Getting Dangerously Close
by robotwitch
Summary: What happens when a new student joins Rosewood? What happens when Emily takes a liking to the stranger? And what happens when that stranger learns their secrets? Does not follow the shows timeline but does have some events from the show. I don't own the characters. Emily is with Paige and the other girls are all with their boys. Please leave some sort of review if you liked it?
1. Chapter 1

Emily's POV

"Have any of you guys heard from A lately?" Hanna asked as we sat in English.

It had been a while since we had gotten any texts from A and as much as I enjoyed a bit of freedom from that hell, it unsettled me. I felt as if A was just stalking us quietly, as if we were prey.

_I guess we are._

"No, I haven't but I wouldn't get used to it. You know A, they're always toying with us one way or another." Spencer scoffed.

"Yeah, neither have I. It's always made me uneasy to wait too." Aria said as she fidgeted with her book bag.

"Earth to Em?" Hanna questioned while poking my side.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just not in the mood to talk about our crazy stalk-" I started but was interrupted when the whole room went silent.

I turned towards the door to see what was causing this miracle to find a stranger standing at Ms. Montgomery's desk. I watched as this stranger handed the teacher a piece of paper to sign and Ms. Montgomery pointed to the empty seat next to Aria.

The stranger then proceeded to walk towards us slowly, seemingly with confidence. As if they did this new student walk daily.

"New student? He's kind of hot." Hanna smirked until the stranger got closer, "Oh, he's actually a girl. Could have fooled me."

Hanna was right though. This stranger, this girl stranger, was attractive but I could tell why she would be mistaken. She was tall, at least 5'10", and fit with her long sleeve thermal snug against her body. She had short dark brown hair that was tucked into a beanie and bright hazel eyes.

_She__'__s definitely attractive._

"Drool much, Em?" Spencer joked, "You think she's attractive don't you?"

"What? No! No..I'm dating Paige, I just happened to zone out in her general direction." I exclaimed as I looked down at my papers.

After the stranger sat down, I watched as she leaned in close to Aria to whisper something to her and Aria giggled. A pang of jealousy hit me as I watched this exchange.

_What am I jealous for? I have Paige._

As I sat there staring, I saw the stranger rummage in her bag and then she looked up and straight at me. She shot me a wink and a smile and then turned forward again. I could feel myself starting to blush.

Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I fished it out to see I had a new text from an unknown number.

_Great._

I opened it to find a text from A, "Don't worry bitch, I'll help you with your little crush. -A"

_This class just got a lot harder._

* * *

><p>The Strangers POV<p>

_Third school this year. That__'__s got to be a record._

Rosewood High School was my new jail for these next few months, making this small town my new home, however temporary. My dad said that we should be here until the end of the year.

_As if._

As I approach my classroom, I can hear the students chattering away.

_Good, I don__'__t need to be noticed right away._

When I open the door and step inside, however, the whole class goes silent. After I locate the teacher, I hand her my schedule to sign.

"You must be Robbie," She says while giving me a welcoming smile, "I'm Ms. Montgomery."

"Nice to meet you." I nodded.

"You can go ahead and sit at the empty desk next to Aria." She whispers as she points to the small brunette.

_You__'__re kind of cute._

"Thank you." I say while I start walking over.

As I'm walking I have to stifle a laugh as I overhear a blonde say "New student? He's kind of hot. Oh, he's actually a girl. Could have fooled me."

After I find my seat I lean in towards the brunette and whisper "Does every new student get treated like a celebrity?" I flash her my signature smile and watch as she giggles silently.

"I'm Robbie, Robbie Young."

"Aria, Aria Montgomery." She smiles.

"Any relation to our teacher?" I jest.

"Blood actually." She laughs.

As I bend down to get my notebooks out, I look back and notice a cute brunette staring at me.

_My she is beautiful._

I shoot her a wink and a smile and watch as she starts to turn a bright red.

_Maybe this class won__'__t be so bad._


	2. Chapter 2

Emily's POV

_Don't worry bitch, I'll help you with your little crush._

What could A mean by that? What did they have planned? Whenever A said that they would help, it usually meant themselves. They'd take advantage of whatever they could to bring us misery, and now they think they've found something. But what crush? I was dating Paige and I was happy.

Right?

Suddenly I was pulled out of my thoughts when someone shoulder checked me causing my books and papers to go flying everywhere.

"Great." I groaned as I rolled my eyes and stooped to start picking everything up.

As I reached for a notebook I noticed another pair of hand grabbing up my papers and stacking them. I followed the hands up to find bright hazel eyes. The same hazel eyes that winked at me in English.

When I met her eyes she smiled and winked at me for the second time that day. I felt my cheeks start to get warm so I dropped my gaze to the floor and continued grabbing papers.

"Thank you." I stammered still staring at the ground.

"No problem, not helping a pretty girl like you would be wrong." The eyes laughed as she stood up.

I looked down again as I felt another blush coming on and she handed me my things. When her hand brushed mine it sent an electric shock up my arm.

_So this was the crush._

As she turned I tried to get my voice back to ask what her name was but I couldn't make a sound. I just watched as she disappeared into the hall as quickly as she showed up.

"Damn." I muttered under my breath.

"What the hell was that?" A voice from behind me spat. Paige.

"What was what, babe?" I asked innocently.

"Don't patronize me, Em. What was that whole exchange? Why'd she wink at you?" Paige said in a low, irritated voice.

"I guess she's just friendly." I shrugged turning to put my books into my locker. I really hope that she didn't see me blush.

"A little too friendly, if you ask me. Doesn't she know you're mine?" Paige scowled before grabbing my hips and pulling me into her.

"She just started here baby. I doubt she knows anything about anything besides the feeling of being new. It was honestly nothing." I said turning and kissing her on the cheek.

"Maybe I should go have a chat with her, then she'd know a little something." Paige growled making a move to go the same direction that the stranger disappeared to.

"Babe, no. You and I have swim practice to get to and we don't want to be late." I whisper placing a hand on her chest and pushing her towards the locker room.

"Fine, but if she ever makes a move-" Paige started but stopped.

"I know baby, nothing will happen." I said softly, trying to convince us both.

Robbie's POV

Later that evening

I'd found this place as I was on my run and decided I would come to it after I finished. It was called the Applerose Grill and it seemed to be the hot spot for kids my age. It was a bit small but very welcoming, in a way.

Today had been an interesting day. I had English with a very beautiful girl, and my first friend, or at least acquaintance. Then I had another art and music class with that acquaintance. Aria. She was a very friendly girl, very pretty as well. From some of her work I could tell she was a talented artist. And that other girl, I don't know her name right now, but she's beautiful. Astonishing really. I tried my best not to flirt with her too much after school but I don't think I did too well, especially since I heard her girlfriend show up right after I left.

"Girlfriend." I sighed before walking up to the counter to order.

After I got my drink I made my way across the room to find a seat, only to find a familiar face sitting on a couch in the back with a sketchpad.

"Aria, right?" I smiled as I walked up to her and catching her off guard. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay, I've been a jumpy person lately." She whispered smiling weakly, "So I see you've found the beloved coffee shop. What do you think about it?"

"It's great. So far I enjoy my water." I laughed, "Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all, it'd be nice to have some company." She said scooting to make room for me.

"So, what're you working on there?" I asked pointing at the sketchpad.

"Well, it's supposed to be a portrait in charcoal, but I'm more for pencil or painting and I also don't have a model." Aria said sheepishly.

"Well I could always help, I've done my fair share of charcoal drawings. I mean, I'm no pro but I could give some tips if you'd like?" I asked.

"Really? That'd be great, I could really use the help." She exclaimed, smiling wildly, "Could I use you as a model too?"

"Are you sure you want me to be your model?" I laughed, "My features aren't the best for charcoal."

"I guess you're right, you do lack the right cheek bones." She teased before looking over my shoulder, "Hey, it's Emily. I'll be right back." She said standing up.

As I watched her leave I wondered who Emily was until I saw that beautiful brunette from after school show up. So Emily was her name? It fits her.

Once they were both back I could tell how nervous Emily was.

_But why? Did she notice from before?_

"Em, this is Robbie, the new student from our English class." Aria stated before turning to me, "Robbie, this is Emily, one of my best friends."

I stood up and extended my hand, "Pleasure to meet you, again." I said smiling. She took my hand gently and shook it before retreating into a chair.

"You guys have talked?" Aria asked looking back and forth between the two of us.

"Yeah, Robbie helped me when I dropped my things after school, but then ran away before I could get a name." The brunette joked, staring at me.

"I like to be anonymous when I help people." I jested, winking at her again.

_What was up with me and winking today?_

Suddenly I got an idea, "Hey Aria, why don't I show you how to use charcoal best, by drawing your friend here?"

"Oh that would be fantastic." Aria smiled before looking at Emily, "Would you mind, Em? It'd help me a lot."

I watched as Emily's eyes grew a little wide before quietly nodding.

"Thank you Em." The small brunette said jumping and hugging her friend.

"Now, we might need to go somewhere that isn't as busy." I pointed out.

"We could go to my house. My parents are out of town at the moment." Aria said after standing up from her hug.

"That sounds great, show me the way." I smiled before grabbing my drink and handing Aria her sketchpad.

_Hopefully this goes well._

Emily's POV

I've been sitting for half an hour while Robbie sat drawing me with Aria over her shoulder. It was maddening trying to remain still, I had to move soon. Especially since Robbie kept smiling at me whenever she would look up at me.

"See Aria, you're going to want to use the thinner end for the finer details." I heard Robbie say, pointing at the sketchpad.

"I don't want to seem annoying, but I was wondering how much longer I had to sit here? I can feel my muscles tensing and that won't be good for swim." I whispered from where I was sitting.

"Just a few more minutes." Robbie smiled, "So you do swim? I was thinking about trying to join swim and maybe field hockey."

"Well, you can come try out Wednesday if you wanted?" I said stumbling over my words.

_She wants to join swim? Paige isn't going to like that._

"Sure that sounds great." She smiled, "Alright, Ms. Emily, you are free to move. How do you like it Aria?"

"Wow, you're a really great artist. Thank you so much for helping me." Aria said before hugging Robbie, who seemed stunned at the embrace.

"Would you like to take a look, Em?" Aria offered, pushing the picture in my direction. I grabbed it out of her hand and took a look. Robbie did a fantastic job, she made it seem like I was actually on the paper just in black and white. It was beautiful.

"This is breath taking, Robbie." I whispered, "I love it. Could I keep it?"

"It's easy to draw a masterpiece when your model is one." Robbie smiled, "And of course you can, so long as Aria can part with it."

I felt myself blush again as I turned towards Aria, who had her eyebrows up from what Robbie had said. As soon as she realized someone had asked her a question she came to and nodded her head.

"Yes, you can keep it. Maybe Robbie can sign it, and we can frame it if you wanted. I have a frame around here somewhere." Aria rattled standing up to go look for a frame.

"I don't need to sign it, Emily. It's just a drawing, nothing really special." Robbie chuckled.

"Well I love it." I sighed looking back at the picture. "Thank you again, Robbie."

Soon Aria came back with a sleek, black frame that look just big enough to fit the drawing. I handed her the picture and she looked it over, then looked at Robbie with her brows furrowed.

"I said you should sign it." She stated.

"Well, you're quite scary when you're serious, aren't you?" Robbie laughed taking the picture and signing it quickly.

"Yes I am, and thank you very much." She said while placing the picture in the frame. "Here you go, Em. And thank you again for being our model."

"Not a problem." I smiled.

"I think I should get going. Don't want to overstay my welcome." Robbie muttered before standing up and turning to Aria.

"Thank you for inviting me into your house, and thank you Emily for being patient and still enough to be a perfect model." She smiled.

"We'll hang out again, most definitely." Aria said while hugging Robbie again. "You have to let me use you as a model now too."

"Yeah, I'd like to hang out again, Robbie." I smiled, "I better get going to Aria, I don't need to make my mom upset.

"I'll walk you two out." Aria said escorting us to the front door. "Good night you two, and Em, lemme know when you're home."

"I will." I nodded before walking down the steps with Robbie close behind.

"Bye Aria." She threw over her shoulder.

Once we reached the sidewalk I felt a hand on my arm gently turning me around.

"Hey, Emily, I'm sorry about the way I acted after school today. And about upsetting your girlfriend." Robbie said, stuttering over the word girlfriend, almost disappointedly.

"It's okay, it was harmless and Paige can be a little overprotective of me." I said placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at that and looked up.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" She asked quietly, "Just so I know you're safe."

"I would like that." I responded a little too quickly.

A few minutes later we were walking up to my house, and I could see that my mom's rooms light was on. I hope she wasn't mad, it wasn't too late after all but still, my mom can be a little crazy sometimes.

When I turned to Robbie I saw her smiling up at my house.

"What're you smiling at?" I asked.

"It's a nice looking house, one that looks more like a home than anything." She laughed before turning back to me.

"Well thank you for walking me home." I smiled. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and fished it out. It was a text from A.

"**Get to smooching or you'll be sorry. -A"**

"Is that Aria?" I heard from far off but couldn't focus on the question long enough to answer.

_Sorry? Sorry for what? I couldn't kiss Robbie, I can't do that to Paige. That's just wrong. But what happens if I don't? Who will she hurt?_

Soon I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt two hands on my shoulders gently shaking me.

"Hey, you okay?" Robbie asked filled with concern.

"Yeah, just got lost in thought is all. Thank you for walking me home. I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled and turned to walk up to my door.

"Good night." She wished and I heard footsteps down the sidewalk.

_You'll be sorry._

"Good night." I whispered, afraid of what may happen next.

**A/N I hope you all liked this, what may happen next? The world may never know. Go ahead and favorite or follow or review or don't do anything at all. Whatever you feel. I'll keep posting regardless. **

**Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

Aria's POV

"_It's easy to draw a masterpiece when your model is one." _

That's quite a line that Robbie pulled out, I hope Paige never hears about it because she'd be pissed. God, Paige was quite a character, always trying to get what she wanted through force. I guess that's why she's with Em, she's always so nice.

Speaking of Paige, I wonder if Robbie knows about Paige.

As I was walking into my room I heard a door open and shut from downstairs and my blood immediately went cold.

_Mom and Zach aren't supposed to be home till Thursday._

I scrambled to grab my phone and typed out an S.O.S to the girls before slowly walking towards the stairs. When I reached the very top of them I noticed a person standing in the living room with a black coat on.

_Oh god no._

Suddenly, my brain turned off and I croaked out a small hello to the back of the stranger. As I watched the stranger turned, I recognized the long brown hair and relaxed.

"Mom?" I asked relieved, "What're you doing home so early?"

"Zach got some sort of stomach bug on our way there so we had to turn back. Sorry about scaring you, if we did." Ella smiled as she was taking the coat off.

"Where is he anyways?" I questioned looking around the room slowly.

"Right here." I heard a voice say behind me causing me to jump out of my skin.

"Oh hey Zach." I said walking down the stairs to sit on the couch. "I didn't see you go upstairs."

"I'm stealthy." He joked walking slowly down the stairs.

"That's what you want to call it." I muttered under my breath making sure he didn't hear me.

Zach was my mom's boyfriend, soon to be fiancé. He was also the owner of the Applerose Grille, which made it all the more difficult to avoid him.

"Hey Aria, would you mind making me some soup and bringing it up to me in the room? Your mom has papers to grade now." Zach smirked before turning to go back up the stairs.

"Uh, yeah sure." I stuttered, standing and turning to go towards the kitchen. I grabbed up a can of soup and poured it into a bowl before stuffing it into the microwave. I looked at my phone, attempting to prolong the inevitable, and noticed I still had my SOS message open.

_Glad I didn't send it, it would of cause a havoc._

When I heard the beep of the microwave go off, I opened and grabbed the bowl and proceeded to walk towards the stairs. I took my time walking up the stairs because I really didn't want to be alone with Zach.

When I reached my moms room, I knocked on the door and waited until I heard a faint 'Come in.' As I walked in, I saw that Zach was perched up on the bed with a pillow behind his back.

"Go ahead and bring it over here and take a seat." He said, smiling up at me.

I paused before walking over to the bed and handing him the soup. He pat the bed near his feet and I slowly obeyed, sitting as far as I could from him. He then swung his feet over the edge of the bed and scoot closer to me while putting the soup on the bedside table.

"So how's school going for you, kiddo?" Zach smiled while placing a hand on my thigh just above the knee.

"It's going fine." I gulped, trying not to look him in the eyes.

_What a creep._

"And how're all your little friends doing? Anything new? We haven't talked in forever." He said while making little circles with his thumb on my thigh.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm just really busy with school and art. But my friends, they're good. Same as usual." I said quickly, stumbling over my words.

"Well, don't be a stranger anymore." He said lowly before sliding his hand up higher and then taking it away all together.

"I won't." I whispered standing up quickly and making for the door. As I took my first step I felt a slap on my butt and cringed at how bad it stung. I didn't take the time to look back at his disgusting face.

_I've got to tell someone._

When I reached my room I sat on my bed and fished my phone of my pocket going to my contacts. I scrolled through each number until I reached Spencer's and clicked on it to send a new text. Spencer always knew what to do in painful situations. She was the smart one.

Before I could start typing, I felt my phone vibrate and I looked at the new text I got from an unknown number.

"**I wouldn't tell if I were you, don't want to hurt your mother now would you? -A."**

When I read it, I caught my breath in my chest and tried not to scream out loud. I threw my phone back onto my bed and slowly sank down into the sheets trying to block it all out.

_Why me?_

—

Robbie's POV

"_I would like that." _

I hadn't felt my heart stop like that before I heard those words. God, it had been a wonderful night. Not just because I got to see Emily, but I also found new friends that I could actually hang out with. Back in Phoenix people weren't the best and since I wasn't staying long I never made an effort to become friends with any of them. This feeling was new, and I liked it.

After leaving Emily at her house, I had begun to walk down the street aimlessly, not knowing where I was going fully. I had found myself standing in front of the Applerose Grille. Although it was closed, there were a few lights still on, but no movement. It gave me an eerie feeling, and made my skin stand in goose bumps.

_Is someone watching me? _

The sudden feeling of being watched had washed over me, and I turned quickly to see if there was anyone there. Looking through the dark, I didn't see anyone standing around, but I caught movement in the corner of my eye. When I turned what was once there was now gone.

I turned back to the direction I was walking and began my trek, making my way slowly to my house. Just as I was about to turn the corner I heard a noise from behind me.

"Hello?" I yelled out as I stood in the dark. Again I heard footsteps from behind me, as if they were running circles around me.

I turned to where I heard the footsteps and saw a glimpse of a black boot disappearing behind a parked van. I jogged towards the van and looked around.

Nothing.

Suddenly I heard the footsteps directly behind me. When I turned I saw a hooded figure, dressed in all black with their face covered standing in the middle of the street. Before I was able to say anything they cocked their head to the side and gave me a small wave before turning and booking it in the opposite direction. When they took off I heard a small clatter and looked at the ground where they were and saw something glistening in the light.

I walked over to the object on the ground and saw that it was a phone. Not just any type of phone, it looked like one of the burner phones that I'd see on those crime shows. I picked it up and flipped it around my hand to see that it was already unlocked.

_Who do you belong to?_

I went to their contacts and started to scroll through, noticing that there weren't very many numbers. Finally I came across one I knew; Emily Fields.

I clicked on her name and put the phone to my ear as I heard it ringing.

"_Hello..?" _Her voice said a bit hesitantly.

"Hey, it's Robbie. Apparently, Rosewood has a very dark welcoming committee." I chuckled.

"_Robbie..? What do you mean?" _She said with a bit of relief.

"There was someone following me home, and then I saw this dark hooded figure standing behind me. Before I knew it, he took off running and his phone dropped. Which is what I have now." I rambled.

"_You..you have what now?" _She said a bit frantic.

"Your friends phone, it is a friend right? I mean they did have yours and Arias numbers." I mentioned.

"_Yeah, it's..Paige's phone. I can take it tomorrow and give it back to her." _She stuttered, sounding a bit scared.

"Oh..okay. Yeah, I'll bring it to class tomorrow." I said quietly.

"_Great. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." _She sighed before hanging up.

"Yeah..see you tomorrow." I whispered into silence.

_Why was Paige following me?_

—

"Great. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." I sighed hanging up the phone.

Robbie was just stalked by A. She was just followed home by my enemy, and A already made a mistake? That doesn't seem like A. But I guess A is full of surprises.

After hanging up the phone, I go into my texts and send a mass message explaining to the girls what had just happened. It wasn't long before I had Spencer calling me.

"Hello?" I whispered into the phone.

"_What do you mean A followed Robbie? Who is Robbie? And A dropped their phone?" _She rambled forgetting to take a breath.

"Robbie is the new student from English. And exactly what I said, Robbie was being followed. She said that she turned around and a hooded figure was standing behind her. They then ran and apparently dropped their phone in the process." I said slowly, recounting the seconds on the phone that Robbie had told me.

"_How do we know that Robbie isn't a part of the A team?" _Spencer muttered.

"Well, we don't but she just started here this morning. Why would A introduce us face to face with one of their henchmen?" I asked a bit harsh.

"_It's not like it's out of the realm of possibility." _She stated matter of fact.

"I don't think that she's a part of it, but I told her it was Paige's phone and that I would take it to her tomorrow. So we'll have the phone tomorrow." I sighed.

"_Good. I'll see you tomorrow." _She said before hanging up.

_Robbie? A part of A? Could it be possible?_

After hanging up with Spencer, I text back and forth with Hanna and Aria before they finally went to bed. I plugged my phone in and put it on the bedside table before settling into my bed. As much as I tried though, I couldn't fall asleep. Something was bothering me.

That text A had sent earlier, about how I'll be sorry. Why would I be sorry? What are they planning?

_Or you'll be sorry._

Suddenly I heard my phone vibrate on the bedside table and felt a chill run down my spine. Who was it? I reached over and looked at the screen.

It was an unknown number.

_Great._

"**I told you, you'll be sorry. Starting now bitch. -A"**

_And so the torture commences. _

As I laid there, I couldn't help but listen to every noise that surrounded me. I was restless. I couldn't relax. I was scared again, like that first text after Ali's funeral all over again.

_Will it ever end?_


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer's POV

**Next Day **

"When's Robbie supposed to get here?" Hanna whined leaning up against my locker.

"Soon, it's just barely 7:30 Han." I snapped before realizing, "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I don't think any of us did." Emily said before putting her hand on my shoulder, but her eyes disclosed just how tired she was too.

We had been standing at my locker for what seemed like forever, just waiting to see the present that Robbie would bestow upon us. I still thought that it was fishy how she gets here and on day one A is already messing up around her. A had always been so careful, so why would they mess up now?

_Robbie has got to be a part of A._

"There she is." Aria stated pointing out the tall body in the crowd.

"Finally." Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Robbie, over here." Emily said before taking a drink from her water bottle.

_Is Emily nervous?_

"Hey Emily, Aria." Robbie smiled at both of them before turning to me and Hanna.

_Wow, she's got a nice smile. _

"Hi, I'm Robbie, I'm pretty sure that I have both of y'all in English, and I think I have you in my honors Russian History class, right?" She remarked reaching out her hand.

"Indeed you do, I'm Spencer, and this is Hanna." I smiled before shaking her hand briefly.

"So I believe you have something for us?" Hanna slurred slightly putting her hand out.

"For y'all? I thought it was just Paige's phone." Robbie asked with a quizzical look on her face.

"Yes, it is. It's Paige's phone." Emily cut in giving Hanna a stern look.

"Alright, alright. I'll get it." Robbie said before rummaging in her pockets.

I watched as she lifted her shirt up just enough that I could see some of her toned muscles and I could feel my heart starting to beat fast.

_What was I staring at?_

Before I knew it Robbie was handing the phone over to Emily.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Emily smiled as her hand brushed against Robbie's.

"No problem. I'll you ladies in class then." Robbie stated before winking at Emily and turning to walk to her locker.

At the exchange I could feel my cheeks getting warmer. I turned to look into my locker, pretending to be searching for a notebook. What was coming over me?

"So who wants to keep it for now?" Aria questioned, sounding a bit far from me.

I could see it now. Robbie liked Emily. I mean, why wouldn't she? She's beautiful and **openly** gay. I'd like her too if we hadn't been friends for forever. I don't blame Robbie. But my god, she was attractive, and she seemed nice enough. How could I have said that Robbie was a part of the A team.

"Spence?" Emily said before shaking my shoulder slightly.

"Hm? Yeah? Sorry, I just got lost in thought." I stuttered closing my locker and turning to the girls.

"Well, do you still think Robbie is a part of the A team?" She questioned crossing her arms over her chest.

"You thought Robbie was a part of A?" Aria asked a bit harsh.

"Well, I just thought it was odd that on her first night here she just happened to get something from A, without even knowing who A is." I muttered, "But no, I don't think so anymore."

"Well, good. Because I don't think she is either." Emily said before relaxing.

Right then we heard the bell ring and made our way to class. Hanna was staggering behind me, clinging to the wall. Emily and Aria walked slightly in front of me talking with each other about the phone silently. And then there was me, thinking about Robbie. Tall, fit, hot Robbie.

_This will be a long day._

—

Hanna's POV

**After Class**

The hall walls were spinning so fast I didn't think I could keep myself up right. The faces of my friends spun around me like a carousel, and they never slowed down.

_Maybe I took it too far this time. _

"Han, you okay?" I heard a voice say from far off. It kind of sounded like Spencer's but I couldn't be sure.

"Better than ever." I smiled looking in the general direction of the voice. It was indeed Spencer who asked.

Then I felt hands on my shoulders, keeping me steady. They were warm, and big for a girl. Was it even a girl's pair of hands? It didn't seem like it, they were much too strong to be any of my friend's hands. I followed the hands up to a familiar face and saw Caleb.

"Hey baby." I slurred, smiling like an idiot.

"Hanna, are you okay?" He asked, his voice full of concern, "You're walking like a drunken sailor along his deck. What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing baby, I'm just feeling good." I cooed, leaning into him, "You smell good."

"Alright, Hanna, it's time to go home. You can't go to class like this." Caleb stated as he pushed me to look him in the eyes.

"If you say so, baby." I smiled, leaning against the wall behind me.

The next thing I knew, Caleb had grabbed my bags and my elbow and started walking towards the front of the school. We made our way slowly out the doors and towards my car.

"Where are your keys?" He asked turning to me with his hand out.

I handed him the keys after fumbling in my pockets for a minute. He turned and opened the back door and threw my things on the floor before helping me in and laying me down on the seat. Finally he got into the drivers side and started up the car and peeled out of the parking lot.

"Did you drive here like this?" Caleb asked, sounding a bit mad.

"Why do you sound mad?" I slurred.

"Because, Hanna, you're tanked and you were at school. Not to mention if this happened before you got to school, you drove drunk." Caleb snapped.

"Baby, I'm fine. I'm not impaired and I didn't hurt anyone. It was fine. Not like I live that far anyways." I stated, trying to sound sober.

"It's not fine Hanna." Caleb said lowly, "It's not safe. What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing! I just want to be able to relax. Can you get off my back, dad?" I yelled.

Right as I said that we made it to my house, and being angry enough I got myself out of the car without a problem. I made my way up to the front door and inside before slamming the door. As Caleb came in, I turned and glared at him unrelenting.

"Give me my keys and get out." I demanded, putting my hand out.

"What?" He asked incredulous.

"I said, give me my keys and get out of my house. I don't want to deal with you right now." I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Han—" He started, but was interrupted by my hand grabbing the keys out of his hand.

"Out. Now." I pointed towards the door. He looked down and sighed before turning and heading towards the door.

After he went through the door and closed it, I crumbled onto a stool and sat there staring at the floor. What was his deal? I was fine. Besides, he started this whole drinking thing, and now that he's staying sober he thinks he can get all high and mighty with me? Just because I love him it doesn't give him the power over me.

_Power over me. _

With recent events, I've learned that I hate not having control. I hate living for someone else, making sure I do everything right.

As I was sitting there I felt my phone vibrate, and fished it out of my pocket. What I saw made my blood boil.

"**Looks like your relationship is on the rocks, much like your drink. -A"**

"Fuck you!" I yelled at my phone. It wasn't even a threat, it was A taunting me. They were reminding me that I don't live my life unless they tell me to. I was a circus monkey and they were the ring master.

_I'm so done._

—

Robbie's POV

_After School_

It had been a long day at school, I could feel myself going insane as I went from one class to another. One boring class filled with lectures that cause my IQ to decrease substantially. Not to mention all the people that utilized their time to make themselves look like complete asses. High school was my form of hell, because there was too much structure to it.

_If I wanted structure, I'd join the military._

Then there was Paige McCullers. Every time I made my way to the next class or even to my locker, she'd glare at me. I swear if looks could kill, I'd be dead. I can understand why though, it's not like I was very subtle flirting with her girlfriend and I was wrong for that. I should apologize.

As I made my way towards my locker, I caught a glimpse of Paige kissing Emily good bye and I could feel my heart twinge within my chest.

_I need to bury these feelings._

I reached my locker and started to put my things away when I suddenly got shoulder checked, and dropped everything. I looked up to see my bully, and saw the face of Paige smirking over her shoulder as she made he way to the pool. I then looked the other way and saw Emily's face filled with sympathy.

She walked over to me and bent down to help my pick up the rest of my books.

"Feels like we've done this before." I chuckled, looking up into her luminescent eyes.

"I think we may have." She whispered, smiling softly as she handed me my things.

"Thank you. You know, I think I may need to go apologize to Paige for..well you know." I said staring straight into her eyes.

"I think that could do some good." She smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. I could feel my knees go weak to the touch. I shifted my weight and tried to shake off the feeling. I needed to bury these feelings.

"I'll go now, to get it over with. Besides, I'm going to practice some swimming so that I don't look like a total loser." I joked, nudging her so that she'd laugh a little bit.

"Alright, I'll probably be in the gym in half an hour or so, I have to go work on something for English that I missed a while ago." She stated, "I'll see you then? Maybe I can help you."

"That'd be great." I smiled.

"Then I'll see you soon." She said softly before turning to go. After I saw her turn the corner, I grabbed the swimsuit that I had brought and made my way towards the gym.

When I walked into the gym, I looked around and immediately saw Paige in the corner facing the wall. It looked like she was a bit huddled within herself. As I made my way over to her, however, I noticed that she wasn't huddled within herself, she was wrapped around a short brunette. I could see the brunette's hands roaming Paige's body above her shirt, stopping short of Paige's backside.

_So here's your dirty little secret, Paige. How disgusting._

"Paige?" I declared to her back, "What the hell are you doing?"

I watched as her body froze and went rigid. She took her hands away from the hips of the other girl and slowly turned towards me with a hard scowl on her face. She took a step towards me and clenched her fists.

"What are you doing here?" She growled, taking another step towards me.

"I could ask you the same thing, buddy. I came to apologize for flirting with your girl, but that doesn't seem to matter to you as much as I thought." I retorted, standing where I started and not backing down.

The next thing I knew, she was running at me and shoving me backwards. I stumbled back a few steps but stood up straight and held a strong stance. I hadn't been ready for the first one, but I wasn't going to go down easily. I didn't learn how to defend myself for nothing.

The second I stood up she came barreling at me again, full force of her legs and body weight slamming against mine. I heard something crunch, but couldn't tell if it was from me or her, and next thing I knew I was surrounded by water.

_Shit._

My head was still submerged when I felt her hand clamp down on my skull, pushing it further down. I could feel my body on the verge of panic, not being able to breathe was causing me to lose focus on what needed to be done. Too many factors were playing into this situation. As her hand push me down, I grabbed hold of her other hand and pulled the pinky backwards to get her to relinquish my head. I heard a muffled yelp from above water and her hand pulled back quickly.

I took advantage of that second to push my feet against the bottom of the pool and resurface. When I made it to the top I had a split second to breathe before I felt her hand on my throat lifting me slightly before plummeting me back into the water.

_The hell was this girls problem?_

As I struggled underneath the weight of the water and her combined, I attempted to reach for any part of her body. I could feel my lungs starting to lose air and scrambled to get a hold of anything. She wasn't letting up and spots were showing up in front of my eyes.

_I can't let her win._

Finally my hand made contact with her belt buckle and I pulled my body closer to hers, wrapping my leg behind her knee cap and pulling. This caused her to lose her footing and start to tumble backwards, pulling me above the surface and her below. I gasped for air desperately and heard a voice yelling to my left. Before I could look to see who it was I was pulled back under and caught under Paige's body. Suddenly she stopped what she was doing and let up her grip. I pushed to the top again and swam a few feet away from her. She had stopped and was staring behind me with a terrified look on her face.

I looked in the direction she was looking in and saw Emily. She had tears streaming out of her eyes and her bag was on the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked desperately towards the two of us.

I took a quick look at Paige and then turned to pull myself out of the water. As I lifted I could feel a pain sear through my abdomen. Apparently that crunching sound did come from me.

"Nothing, Em. Nothing, we were just..we were just playing around." Paige stuttered, stumbling over her words as she mustered up a small smile, "Right, Robbie?"

"If broken ribs and broken hearts is what playing around is, you sure do a lot of it." I gasped as the pain tore through my body again.

"What do you mean broken hearts?" Emily shot at me, still standing rigidly a few feet away.

"Care to explain Paige? Since this is your doing. Or how about you, Ms.?" I said, looking from Paige to the mystery girl who had witnessed the whole fight, "What is your name anyways?"

"Harleen.." She whispered, looking down quickly, and then looking back at Emily, "And I didn't know about you two being a thing."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Emily cried, tears forming in her eyes again as she looked at Paige, "You..you cheated?"

"Emily, baby, listen to me. It meant nothing, I was going to end it today." Paige started before I interrupted.

"Your lips were in fact busy, but it wasn't with breaking it off." I scoffed.

"You shut your fucking face." I heard from the pool before I heard splashing as she made her way towards me. I stood up as quickly as I could, only half aware of the pain as I took a few steps back.

"Stop it! Paige, back off!" Emily half yelled half begged. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes and Paige stopped as soon as she heard Emily. Before anything else could be said, Emily took off out of the gym and down the hall.

"Em, wait!" Paige yelled after her trying to get out.

"No, you stay here, you've done enough. I'll go talk to her." I demanded staring at Paige.

As I attempted to run towards the gym doors, my the pain in my ribs started up again and I doubled over for a minute to get some composure. After grabbing onto my ribs I stumbled out the doors to the hallway and saw Emily crumbled on the floor.

"Em?" I shouted as I ran towards her. "Emily?"

When I got to her rigid body, I saw that her face was contorted in pain. She was gripping her sides and moaning, biting on her tongue to the point it could start to bleed.

"Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked putting my hands on the sides of her face to get her too look at me. From behind me I could hear a classroom door opening and saw a young teacher looking down at me.

"What's wrong?" He asked, filled with concern, "What's going on, Emily?"

"Call an ambulance." I threw over my shoulder, "Or the hospital and tell them she's coming in with severe abdominal pain."

"Coming in? Don't you think the paramedics will do that?" He asked, unsure of what I meant.

"I'm taking her in, which way is the hospital?" I declared as I picked up Emily's pain ridden body and held her close to me.

"Let me just call the ambulance." The young teacher panicked, before the gym doors opened.

"Em?" I heard from a soft voice behind me.

I didn't take the time to tell Paige what was going on before I booked it for the front of the school. I made my way out of the parking lot and down the street, before I saw the sign for the hospital. It was a mile up the road and to the left, I could do this. I picked up my pace, running as fast as I could towards the tall building. For some reason, the sidewalk was packed full of pedestrians today, making it hard for me to run straight down the sidewalk. I looked down at Emily, and saw that her eyes were rolling back into her head and she was ghost white.

"Hey, stay with me beautiful. You gotta stay awake okay? Do that for me?" I whispered into her ear while I ran.

I finally reached the hospital and began yelling for someone to get me a bed. I was soon surrounded by mint green scrubs of nurses asking me what was going on and what happened before taking Emily and putting her on a bed.

"She caught me and her girlfriend in a fight. Then she found out her girlfriend was cheating, she ran out of the gym and that's when I found her curled in a ball on the floor. It looked like she was in so much pain. I couldn't wait for an ambulance, I had to bring her here." I rambled as they took her into the restricted zone, and I saw her phone drop.

"We'll take good care of her, and let you know what goes on." The nurse reassured, putting her hand on my shoulder and squeezing it a little.

When the nurse walked away, I made my way over to where her phone dropped and picked it up. As soon as I did it dinged in my hand and I noticed a text from an unknown number.

"**Are you sorry yet? -A"**

Who the hell was A? And what did they mean by that? Did someone do this to Emily? I looked around the room, trying to see if I saw anyone who looked a bit off. No one looked like they were out of place. The waiting room was filled with distraught faces, some of siblings and others of friends. I made my way towards an empty chair in the corner and looked through Emily's contacts to see if I could get ahold of her mother.

I clicked on the contact named "Mom" and put the phone to my ear, listening to it ring and waiting.

"Hello, Mrs. Fields, my name is Robbie Young and I'm a friend of your daughter's. I don't know if you've gotten a call from the hospital yet, but Emily was admitted just ten minutes ago. She was having severe abdominal pain that caused her to collapse, and before I had time to think I ran her here." I rambled, without taking a breath until the end.

There was silence on the other end of the line before I heard keys moving and a voice saying they'd be there in a few minutes.

As I sat and waited, I called up each of her friends and told them the exact same thing. It wasn't long before the waiting room filled with Emily's friends and mother. When her mother walked in, I stood up and extended my hand towards her.

"Mrs. Fields, it's nice to meet you, however under the circumstances, I wish it wasn't this way." I said curtly shaking her hand briefly.

"Have the doctors said anything at all?" She asked quickly with worry in her eyes.

"No, not since I brought her in here. But since I'm not family I doubt they'd tell me." I stated, looking down briefly at the floor. Mrs. Fields then turned on her heel and made her way towards the nurses' desk.

As she was talking, I walked over to the three other girls who all wore the same distraught face.

"What the hell happened?" The blonde demanded.

"I don't know, I found her on the floor in the hallway gripping her sides for dear life." I ranted looking at her through the hair that had fallen over my eyes. Suddenly I was fully aware of my soaking wet clothes that were sticking to my body, and my hair that was covering my forehead and much of my sight.

_I bet I look beautiful._

I began telling the story and watched as each girls face went from worry to anger in a matter of seconds.

"And then, she got this text from someone named A." I mentioned, pulling out her phone and showing the girls.

I watched as their faces went completely white, and the taller brunette snatched the phone out of my hand.

"Did you read this?" She snapped shaking the phone at me.

"Yes, I did." I stammered, not quite sure why they were mad at me, "Who is it?"

"None of your concern." Spencer replied quickly, shoving the phone into her pocket.

I looked at Aria, who hadn't said a thing at all and she looked down quickly.

"Are you okay, Aria?" I whispered.

"I'm scared for Em." She whispered back, not taking her eyes off the floor.

Not knowing what else to do, I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around the small brunette. As soon as I did, I could feel her body start to shake and heard the quiet sobs into my shoulder. I slowly rubbed her back, and tried to console her as she continued crying. After a few minutes she stopped shaking and reciprocated the gesture.

"Emily will be okay." I whispered into her ear, "Nothing to worry about."

Just then I heard feet behind me, and someone clear their throat. I turned to find Mrs. Fields standing awkwardly behind me.

"They nurses said that they're running some tests and that it'd be a few hours before they get results, but that the pain has been controlled and we can go see her for a little while." She spoke softly.

Just then the nurse walked up and asked us to follow her. We started on our way, me falling behind the lot of them and following quietly. The three girls kept whispering to each other as they walked, sometimes looking back to stare at me.

When we reached the room, the nurse opened the door and walked in to the end of the bed. I followed her with my eyes, going up from the foot of the bed to find a half awake Emily, still as pale as she had been before, but smiling faintly at the sight of her mother and friends. I hovered near the doorway as they shared hugs and watched as they all whispered words of comfort to her.

Deciding that I could come back later, I turned to walk out and made my way to the cafeteria.

_It was going to be a long night._

—

**A/N Hey guys, I know this is only my fourth chapter, but what'd y'all think? Mind leaving a review? I'll take any ideas y'all have!**


	5. Chapter 5

Aria's POV

**At the hospital**

Walking into the hospital room to see my best friend completely pale and weak was heartbreaking. It was an eye opener that even someone so strong can be taken down, and made to look feeble. Seeing her laying on the bed, attempting to smile just made me want to become her nurse and take care of her.

_I can't believe, no I can believe, that A did this._

"Hey there, hun, how're you feeling?" I choked out, placing my hand on top of hers.

"I'm okay, they've got morphine pumping through me I think, so I don't feel the pain. But I'm so tired." She whispered, slowly blinking her eyes.

"Do you want anything?" I asked softly.

She shook her head and looked around the room.

"Actually, I don't remember fully what happened." She expressed, looking at each of our faces one at a time.

"We don't know much, just what Robbie told us." I disclosed, looking up at Spencer and Hanna.

"Yeah, she told us briefly that you walked in on them fighting and then took off. Next thing she knew you were on the floor." Spencer spoke up.

"Where is Robbie?" Emily whispered looking around the room to find the missing body.

"I don't know, actually. She probably took off." Hanna drawled, shrugging her shoulders with indifference.

"Oh." Emily muttered a little disappointment in her voice.

"She'll probably be back later, after you've rested." I encouraged, rubbing her shoulder.

_I hope so at least._

—

Spencer's POV

"She'll probably be back later, after you've rested." Aria comforted Emily.

I rolled my eyes at that statement, of course Robbie would come back for Emily. She literally ran Em from school to the hospital. She's probably just in the waiting room or in the cafeteria, waiting for her turn.

"Alright girls, I have to go make a call to my husband and should probably get some food in me, seeing as how I'll be here for a while. I might also have to go get some work done so I can be here longer later." Mrs. Fields mentioned, making her way towards the door, "Do you guys mind staying here with Emily till I get back?"

"Of course Mrs. F." I agreed, nodding my head.

"Thank you." She smiled curtly, walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"We need to talk, Em." Hanna said turning towards Emily as soon as the door closed.

"What about?" Emily asked softly.

"Robbie said that when she got you into the hospital, your phone fell to the floor and when she picked it up you got a text. A text from **A**." I interrupted quickly.

"What? Did she read it?" Emily said beginning to panic.

"Yes, she did. And now she has too many questions about something she shouldn't know about." I asserted.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Emily asked, looking at each of us.

"I have no idea." Aria confessed, walking towards the window.

"A now has someone else that they could screw around with." I mentioned, leaning against the wall.

"I don't know what to do." Hanna slurred dropping down into the chair and leaning her head against the wall.

"I guess we wait for A to make their move and go from there. We do still have A's phone, so we could use that eventually." I stated.

"What would we do with that?" Aria asked, looking at me curiously.

"We could try and meet them, maybe jump them and get a look at the man behind the mask." I drawled.

"That could work, we could have two of us hiding in the dark. We could do it at the green house on the edge of town." Hanna chimed in.

"What do you think, Em?" Aria asked before noticing that she was out cold.

"I think she needs to rest." Hanna muttered into the room.

"Yeah, probably." I sighed, "If you guys want, you can go get food and I'll wait here with Emily."

"I'm starving, so I'm going, what about you Aria?" Hanna drawled, looking at the smaller brunette.

Aria looked at Emily's sleeping body and then back at Spencer before nodding her head and turning to Hanna.

"Alright, just go get some food and relax and possibly bring me a coffee? Black as usual." I said hopefully.

"We'll be back shortly and yes, we will bring you coffee." Hanna laughed as she headed towards the door with Aria on her heels.

As soon as the other girls left I went and pulled the blanket up to Emily's chin. When I got it up high enough, I turned and sat down in the chair and pulled out Emily's phone to look at the text A had sent. 'Are you sorry yet?' What did that mean? As I thought, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the chair.

_Are you sorry yet? Sorry for what? What did A think Emily did?_

Just as I was getting lost in thought I heard a knock on the door and then it opening. I opened my eyes to find that Robbie had come back. I could feel my heart start pounding as she smiled at me softly.

_Here we go._

—

Robbie's POV

When I reached Emily's door I had to stop before entering right away. I didn't want to interrupt anything that may be going on in there. And what if Emily was actually mad at me, for what had gone on prior to her collapsing?

_I couldn__'__t take her being mad at me._

Slowly, I stepped forward and knocked on the door softly before opening it. As I surveyed the room I saw that Spencer was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room and that Emily was asleep on her bed.

_Thank god. _

"Hey, Spencer." I addressed, smiling at her softly.

"Hey, I'm glad that you came back. Emily was asking where you were." Spencer admitted.

"Did she sound mad?" I asked quickly. I didn't want to cause her anymore stress.

"No, but she did sound a bit disappointed you weren't here right away." Spencer muttered, sounding a bit disappointed with the news she had just told me.

"Oh, well, I didn't think she needed to be surrounded by people. A little to overwhelming if you ask me." I chuckled shaking my head at myself, "How're you, Spencer?"

"I'm okay. Worried about Em, and for some reason my neck is all stiff." Spencer confessed, attempting to stretch her neck to the side.

"It must be the stress, do you want my to massage it a little? I used to have to do it all the time for my dad and teammates. Y'all get so stressed that it causes you to get stuck." I laughed, thinking about the times my dad would get so worked up he couldn't turn his head.

"No, you don't have to do that. I'll be okay." Spencer said quickly, stumbling over her words a bit as she looked away.

_Did I embarrass her asking? _

"Spencer, I insist, it's better to relax now and then worry when the results come back for whatever happened to Emily." I drawled, nodding in Emily's direction.

After a minute of Spencer thinking it over, she finally nodded her head slowly. I walked over and pulled her and the chair towards me before walking behind it and cracking my fingers.

"You ready?" I asked, looking down at her.

"Yes." She stuttered, sounding a bit nervous.

As soon as she answered, I put my hands on the back of her neck and began to rub. I had my thumbs working circles into the knots and my fingers squeezing at the muscles.

"Man, Spencer, you don't know how to relax do you?" I asked, "Your neck alone has about 4 knots in it."

"I guess I really don't." She shrugged, sounding like she was enjoying the massage.

I kept working at her neck until I heard the bed start to move and I looked up. Emily had just woken up and she was wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey there, sleepy head." I smiled as I stepped out from behind the chair.

I saw her eyes blink a few times adjusting to the light from the room and her hair was a slight mess. She was beautiful that way, but it looked so sad that she seemed so vulnerable. I felt the overwhelming need to protect her from every bad thing that could happen to her.

_Don't be stupid._

"Hey." She breathed out softly looking up at me.

"How're you feeling?" I asked hopefully.

"I still feel tired, and the pain is coming back a little bit." She admitted, looking down at her sheets.

"Do they know what's wrong? Do you need me to go get the nurses?" I asked, sitting down at the foot of her bed.

"No, but I would like to talk to you." She stated, then looking at Spencer, "Mind if we have a minute, Spence?"

I watched as Spencer's body tensed up again and a look that seem to speak words to Emily passed across her face. Then I saw Emily nod her head slowly, before Spencer stood up.

"I'll just be outside the door." Spencer agreed, walking out the door and closing it slowly.

"So, does Spencer think I'm dangerous?" I joked looking at Emily, who didn't meet my gaze.

"Something like that. But that's not the thing I wanted to talk to you about." Emily admitted, finally looking up the meet my gaze.

"What's up?" I breathed, wondering what she wanted to talk about.

_Obviously what happened with Paige. _

"Can you fill me in? On everything that happened today after school?" She whispered, sounding a bit scared.

I took a deep breath and started to fiddle with my hands. I didn't want to cause her anymore stress, she already had enough. Why should I disrupt that? But she wanted to know, she was asking my right now.

"Well, you know that after school I was going to the pool to catch Paige and apologize for flirting with you, the way that I did. When I walked in, my initial thought is that Paige was just standing facing a corner, playing with her phone or something. It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed there were hands wrapped around her, and hers around someone else's. It couldn't have been you because you had just walked the other way and I didn't see you pass me. So I called her out and she turned to me and got a bit hostile." I rambled, looking Emily straight in the eye. She nodded, urging me to go on.

"We ended up getting in a fight, and she got me in the pool and tried to drown me. At least, she was holding my head underwater for far too long. Whether she knew that it was for too long or not, I don't know. Then you came in. You know the rest from there." I finished, looking down at my hands.

"Actually, after leaving the pool, I don't remember much. I guess the pain became too overbearing and caused my mind to lapse or something." She whispered.

"Well, after you walked out, I ran out after you telling Paige to stay put. When I got to the hallway you were crumbled on the ground, barely conscious. That's when this young dude, a teacher it looked like, popped out of the classroom. I acted quickly because you looked like you were in so much pain. I told him to call the hospital and tell them that a young girl was coming in with severe abdominal pain. I don't know whether he did or not, but I didn't stay to find out; I picked you up and ran you out the door. That's when I ran you to the hospital." I expatiated.

"You ran me all the way from school to the hospital?" She asked, sounding astonished.

"Yeah, I couldn't wait for the paramedics to get there. It'd be too long and they'd try to run through questions since you were somewhat conscious. It'd be forever that you'd get any help." I admitted looking into her beautiful brown eyes.

The next thing I knew, she was leaning forward and wrapping her arms around my neck. She squeezed tight and buried her face into my neck. Shocked at first, I wrapped my arms slowly around her waist and reveled in the moment.

_She fit perfectly right here._

"Thank you." She whispered against my neck.

At that, I only squeezed tighter, enjoying the moment. She was warm, and small. She fit right into my arms like they were molded for her. We stayed like that for a long time it felt like, but then we heard the door open and something hit the floor. Pulling away, I turned and saw Paige standing in the doorway, fists clenched and flowers on the ground. As I stood up my ribs reminded me that they were broken.

"What the hell is this?" Paige snarled at me and Emily.

"This is my wake up call, to who cares and who doesn't." Emily said sternly, "I'm breaking up with you, I hope you have fun with Harleen."

"No, but baby, I promise..it won't happen again. Please. One more chance." Paige begged, walking towards the bed and reaching for Emily's hand. She pulled away and grabbed onto my hand, looking a little bit scared.

"No, Paige. No more chances. I can't take it anymore. It's so much more than just the fact that you cheated. You're jealous, and harsh, you're a bully and self centered." Emily stuttered, sounding a bit scared.

Just then Paige slammed her hands down onto the bed, making it shake and causing Emily to lean into me more. Paige turned and picked up the flowers that were on the floor and threw them at the wall.

"So what, you're gonna leave me for her?" She yelled, emphasizing the word her as she pointed at me, "What a downgrade there Em."

"At least she cares! She met me yesterday and ran me to the hospital by herself. Where were you?" Emily declared, becoming a bit braver. Paige turned and started at Emily, looking like she was going for her neck.

Acting quickly, I grabbed Paige's hand and twisted it behind her back slightly as I moved around the bed.

"I don't think so." I growled into her ear.

She threw her head back, knocking me in the nose and causing me to lose my grip and take a few steps back. As I held my bleeding nose, she sent a punch towards my ribs and I doubled over at the immediate pain. As I stood back up, I threw an uppercut towards her jaw causing her to fall back towards the wall and slide towards the ground.

"Stay there." I breathed, going to the door to find Spencer, "Hey, call security for me will ya?"

"Uh, yeah okay." Spencer gave a quizzical look at my bloody face and went towards the front desk.

I looked down at Paige who was still a bit dizzy from the hit and then back to Emily, who looked worried out of her wits.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking towards her slowly. She nodded vehemently and extended her hand for mine. After I took hold of her hand, she pulled me down onto the bed and looked at my face.

"Jesus Robbie, does it hurt?" She asked, touching my cheeks lightly as she assessed the damage.

"Not as bad as my ribs do, I think she broke those." I said, lifting my shirt and looking at the black and blue bruises forming around my stomach, "Yeah, they're broken."

She touched my stomach lightly, and ran her fingers across the patterns that were forming. Never taking her eyes off me, she pulled my shirt down and grabbed my hand again. For some reason, it made the pain melt away for a split second as I got lost in her eyes. Then we heard the door open and saw a tall, muscular man standing at the doorway.

"What's the problem?" He boomed, looking at the two of us and noticing my bloody nose.

"She got a little physical, and I had to put her down to say the least. Would you mind escorting her out of the building?" I asked, pointing down to Paige who was groaning a bit.

"Sure thing, and do you need a doctor?" He asked, pointing out my nose.

"Yes, yes she does." Emily answered quickly, not giving me a chance, "I knew you would say no."

"Alright, they'll be in shortly."

"Thank you." She replied.

"I would be fine." I affirmed, looking at her.

"No, you need a doctor to wrap you up. You helped me, twice and so now I'm helping you." She stated firmly.

"Alright fine, they can wrap me up, but no meds." I said.

"Deal." She nodded holding my hand.

_Is she gaining feelings for me?_

—

Emily's POV

"Deal" I agreed, nodding my head and holding Robbie's hand.

_What was I doing?_

As we sat there in silence, I looked over Robbie's face. It was covered with blood, starting from her nose and washing over her mouth and chin. Paige must of hit her hard. Then again, it looked like Robbie hit Paige hard considering that Paige was out for the count right after it. Despite the blood, Robbie's eyes still sparkled. They took on a look of mischief, like she was plotting to cause some havoc. It was intoxicating to look at.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a young man in a white coat walked in, I recognized him as being Melissa's ex, Wren. We broke apart just far enough to make it a comfortable atmosphere. Right after the doctor walked in, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer entered and closed the door. From the looks on their faces they had plenty of questions.

"So what seems to be the problem?" Wren said, chuckling to himself at how funny he thought he was being.

"Well, my nose it bleeding, maybe broken? But my ribs are definitely broken, otherwise I would laugh with you." Robbie said, smiling a little bit.

"What the hell happened?" Hanna demanded.

"What happened exactly?" Wren asked quizzically.

"Well, I got into a fight right after school but before she collapsed. Then again like fifteen minutes ago with the same person. The ribs were the first fight and the nose from the second." Robbie rambled as I looked between the two.

Wren muttered something inaudible under his breath and wrote what Robbie was saying down on a paper.

"Mind lifting or taking off your shirt so I can assess the damage of your ribs? Or do you want them all to leave so that we can?" Wren questioned, nodding towards the girls.

"I'm okay with stripping, if they mind then they can walk out." Robbie answered, laughing.

We passed a look between each of us and nodded. We knew we were okay with staying there, and it looked like Spencer was eager to see Robbie strip.

_Might just be reflecting my feelings onto her._

"We're okay staying here." I answered, looking at Wren then towards Robbie.

"Alright, then go ahead and take off your shirt." Wren nodded.

"First, can I wash off this blood?" Robbie asked, pointing to her nose.

"Of course, of course." He answered before heading to the bathroom and returning with a wet towel.

After cleaning off the blood, Robbie threw the towel towards the floor and grabbed the bottom of her shirt. She then lifted up her shirt slowly, looking like she was having a bit of trouble controlling the pain. I couldn't bear to watch her struggle so I scooted over and gently took the shirt and lifted it up slowly.

"Thanks." Robbie smiled, with a pained look on her face.

She was wearing a black sports bra underneath her shirt, and a necklace I never noticed. It looked like a celtic knot and something else on it. As I looked down further I found the bruised ribs. They were horrendous, poor girl, they were black and blue. The bruise wrapped around her abdomen and to her back, it looked like every time she moved it cause pain. I so badly just wanted to make her feel better.

Just then I heard a cough, and looked up to see Spencer glaring at me, Hanna trying to stifle a laugh and Aria looking at her phone.

"That certainly looks like it's painful. I can wrap you up and give you a prescription for an NSAID, called Naproxen." Wren said, touching the bruise slightly.

"No meds, just need to be wrapped up and I'll be fine." Robbie answered quickly.

"Alright, I'll go get a wrap." Wren nodded, walking towards the door.

"You sure took a beating, didn't you?" Hanna stated as soon as Wren was out the door.

"I guess I did." Robbie chuckled looking at an unamused Hanna.

"So what happened this second time?" Aria asked Robbie quietly.

"Paige came here and got mad that Robbie was in the room with me. She got violent and Robbie stepped in so I wouldn't get hurt. Paige got Robbie in the nose and Robbie knocked her out." I interrupted, looking at the girls.

"Guess it's a good thing that Robbie's brave." Spencer drawled, looking down at the floor.

"So, I have a question to ask y'all." Robbie said into the silence.

"What is it?" I asked slowly, looking at her.

"Who is A?" Robbie questioned quickly, looking at each of our faces for an answer.

For a long moment we sat in silence, trying to think of what to say. Robbie had already seen a text from them, one that sounded a bit threatening as is, so that ruled out saying it was a friend. Or I could say it was a friend I got into a fight with. Just then I had an idea, it was wrong but it would work.

Sitting on the bed, I grabbed my sides and started groaning. I yelped and fell back onto my bed, trying to sell it. I felt Robbie shift on the bed quickly and putting her hands on each side of my face.

"Hey, sweetheart. What's wrong? Is the pain back?" Robbie asked calmly, "Want me to go get the doctors?"

I nodded slightly, closing my eyes as if the pain had come again in another wave. I felt Robbie's hands move away and heard her feet on the linoleum and finally the door open and close. Just as I heard it close, the girls surrounded me freaking out. I sat up and looked at them.

"I needed some way to get us out of that question." I shrugged, looking at each of their faces relax.

"She's getting too close, Em." Hanna stated, staring straight at me.

"I know, but if we shove her off like every other person, she'll get curious. She already knows more than most people. She's seen what A can do, and I'm pretty sure that she knows that the person who texted me, did this to me." I sighed, looking down at my hands.

When I saw Wren through the window on the door, I laid back down quickly and clutched my sides. He came in and straight to my side, asking me all sorts of questions that I either nodded to or just laid silently in pain. Shortly after I acted as if the pain was going down and opened my eyes to meet everyone else's.

The girls all looked believably scared, while Robbie was calm and still shirtless.

_Did she run out like that? _

"Feelin' better?" Wren asked, squeezing my hand.

"Much. Thank you." I mumbled quietly.

"Good, let me just wrap Robbie up, and then I'll need to speak with you. Alone." Wren said blatantly.

After I nodded, he turned towards Robbie and wrapped her ribs up. She stood there quietly, wincing every so often as he squeezed the gauze tighter around her fit body.

"Alright, do you girls mind if I get a minute with Emily alone?" Wren asked rhetorically. The girls nodded simultaneously and left one by one. I could see them standing in the hallway, but I tried not too look at them. I felt fear coursing through me.

_What was wrong with me?_

—

Hanna's POV

"Alright, do you girls mind if I get a minute with Emily alone?" Wren asked us, looking at me, Aria, and Spencer. I saw the others nodded as I did, and we all started for the door.

As soon as we were out the door I looked at my friend's faces and Robbie's. Each one had a look of curiosity on it.

"So Robbie, what the hell happened to your nose?" I asked, looking at her. She turned her head towards me slowly, looking at me with a blank face like she didn't understand what I had asked.

"What?" She muttered, "Oh, yeah. Paige has a good arm I guess. She got a good shot on me, but got too cocky and ultimately got it handed back to her."

"Why did she get physical?" Spencer questioned, looking at Robbie.

"Me and Emily were sitting on the bed talking, and she walked in and thought something of it I guess." Robbie shrugged, still looking at the door.

"Was there something to think of it?" Spencer croaked a bit, looking down.

_Is Spencer jealous? _

"Either way, does anyone know what's going on with Emily? Any clue as to what could be wrong with her?" I interrupted.

"I hope it's nothing serious. She already has enough on her plate." Aria said quietly, playing with her hands.

"Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine there, punk. There's no need to worry." Robbie comforted, putting her hands on Aria's shoulders and giving them a small shake. Just then, Aria looked up and gave a small smile before leaning in and hugging Robbie.

_How is she getting to all of us?_

A minute later, we heard the door open and saw Wren walk out. As the door shut, I caught a peek at Emily and saw her tear stained cheeks. She had been crying, and hard.

_What did A do?_


	6. Chapter 6

Emily's POV

I couldn't understand what I was hearing. Steroids? They found steroids in my system? I've never taken steroids in my life, and I never would. It'd jeopardize my swimming career.

_Shit._

This was A's plan. To mess around with what I love most, like they always have and now they were going to take swimming away from me. They can't do this to me, what kind of sick, demented person are they? They can't be human.

I could feel the tears building up in my eyes as Wren continued to talk about how they'll treat the ulcer I have and what I have to do. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye, to see the compassion building up in his eyes. He didn't know what this felt like. No one knew what it felt like to have what you love taken from you in an instant by some unknown force. Well, no one besides my friend's and I. It was a terrible feeling, it felt like my chest was caving in and my heart was about to stop beating. I might just die.

"Do you want me to ask your friends to come in here? And call your mother?" Wren asked sincerely, looking at me.

"Don't call my mom just yet, but could you have my friend's come in?" I nodded, keeping my eyes locked on my hands. I had started to mess around with a frayed part of the blanket I had on top of me. It was coming apart at the seams, I kind of felt like that. The frayed threads of a blanket, slowly coming undone, slowly losing it all.

After Wren walked out, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer all walked in. Each girl wore a worried expression like a new accessory. As they filed in the room, Hanna and Aria sat next to me on the bed and cuddled my shoulders, while Spencer sat in front of me trying to keep her face as stoic as possible. No one said anything for a long while as we sat like that, the only sounds around us were the heart monitor and our ragged breaths. The tears still slid down my cheeks and fell onto my hands.

"Wren said that the pain was caused by an ulcer, but after running some blood tests they found traces of HGH." I sighed, closing my eyes as the tears began to pile up again.

"What's HGH?" Hanna slurred, looking over to Spencer.

"It stands for human growth hormones, it's steroids basically." Spencer replied, "A must have found a way to get it into your bloodstream."

"That makes me feel like no where is safe." Aria trembled, clinging onto my arm tighter.

"There hasn't been a safe place since Ally's body was found. We've been under attack for years now." I muttered, wiping at my cheeks.

"A's sending as much as they can our way. They're trying to hurt us and break us." Spencer stated, placing a hand on my knee.

"Well, they're doing a good job of it. Once the school finds out I'll be off the swim team in no time. They don't tolerate steroids in swim. I'll be losing the one thing I love." I cried, throwing my head in my hands.

"We won't let that happen, Em. We'll get you back onto the swim team. We're all still together." Aria whispered, as she held my hand.

"Yeah, Em. No one will tear us apart as much as they try, and they have tried." Hanna slurred again, and this time I could smell the booze on her breath.

"Han, you need to quit drinking. At least, quit drinking as much so that it's noticeable." I said, staring her in the face.

"I don't need to do anything." Hanna muttered, slumping into the bed, "I'm perfectly fine."

"You've been stumbling and slurring for the past week or so." Spencer stated.

"So?" Hanna spat.

"So, if you get caught you can get in serious trouble. You can get jail time just for public intoxication and underage drinking. We don't need anything else against us now do we?" Spencer said calmly.

"I'm just having a little bit of fun. There's nothing wrong with that." Hanna snorted.

"Please, Hanna, just lay off the drinking at least a little bit. Please." Aria begged.

Just then, all of our phones vibrated. I could feel my heart stopping and I watched as my friend's faces turned white. Whenever our phones went off at the same time, it never meant anything good.

I reached for my phone and looked at the message, it had a picture attached to it. When I opened the picture, I saw a familiar face. It was Paige. She looked like she wasn't hurt, but she was out cold and tied to a pole. A had Paige.

"**You have something of mine, I have something of yours. Let's change that. -A"**

"A has Paige. Guys, A has Paige." I began to freak out, reaching to throw my blanket off and stand up.

"Wait, Em, stop. We gotta think." Spencer comforted, pushing me back into the bed.

"Think about what? We have to get Paige back from A." I exclaimed.

"What if it's another trap? What if this gets one of us seriously hurt?" Spencer said.

"We have to take that risk, because of us Paige is being held hostage. We have to get her back." I stammered, beginning to cry again.

"No, because of Robbie and A's carelessness, Paige is being held hostage." Hanna pointed out, "But I agree, as shitty a person as Paige is, we need to get her back."

"And we will, we just have to plan it." Spencer said.

"Poor Paige." Aria whispered.

"How about we do a meeting at the green house on the edge of town?" Spencer asked, shrugging.

"I think that would be good. It's the best place we could go without people getting curious as to what's going on." I nodded.

"When do you get out of the hospital, Em?" Hanna asked.

"I think they may be aiming for tonight." I replied, looking over to Hanna, "Why?"

"We need to get her back soon, obviously, so we have to plan a night to go. Hopefully you get out tonight and we can go there." Hanna mentioned.

"That may be hard, because if my mom finds out that there were steroids in my system I may be on house arrest until further notice." I said, looking down.

"Then you'll just have to sneak out." Spencer stated.

"So, we're good for doing it tonight?" Hanna asked the room, looking at each of us. Just as she finished her question, Robbie walked in with a small smile.

"We celebrating tonight?" Robbie asked, looking at everyone.

"What? No. Why would we be celebrating?" I stuttered.

"Well, the doctors said that they were releasing you tonight, in a few hours actually. Seeing as how you're doing better than you were." Robbie said, looking at me curiously.

"That's wonderful!" Aria exclaimed, hugging my arm tightly.

As she was standing there, Robbie looked at each of our faces assessing the expressions we each wore. I'll admit, it seemed that we weren't very good at hiding what we were thinking from her, she always seemed to pull out what was wrong without saying anything. That was dangerous.

"Well, that's all the doctor wanted me to tell you. So I'll see myself out so you can plan better for tonight." Robbie nodded, turning for the door.

"No, it's okay, we've already got it planned Robbie, you can stay and we'll go." Spencer drawled as she looked at the other two.

"Yeah, totally, we can go so you guys can talk." Hanna agreed, standing up and making her way towards the door.

"You guys sure?" Robbie asked, a little unsure.

"Of course. We had our time, it's your turn now." Aria smiled as she took Robbie's hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Alright. Y'all don't have to be gone for long." Robbie stated.

"Bye Em, we'll see you later." Hanna waved and walked out the door, with Spencer and Aria following suit.

"Bye guys." I smiled.

"So that was kind of a quick exit wasn't it?" Robbie joked, looking at me.

"I guess, they might just be ready to get home for a little bit and relax. It's been a hectic day." I shrugged.

"So what do y'all have planned tonight? Girls night?" Robbie poked as she smiled.

"Nothing, we weren't planning anything." I said quickly, looking away from her bright eyes.

"Mm, okay. Well, how're you feeling?" She asked, walking to the edge of the bed and sitting down.

"I'm feeling a lot better. The pain is gone." I nodded.

"So what'd the doctors say?" She questioned.

"They said that..that they found steroids in my system. Drugs that I would never use." I answered as my eyes started to water.

"Steroids? How could those get into your system?" She said, sounding a little bit worried as she moved closer.

"I don't know. I don't know how they got there." I lied, wiping my eyes.

"Was it this A person? Could they have done this to you?" She questioned again.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact that if this gets to my swim coach, I'm off the swim team and probably fall under question. I lose any chance of a scholarship." I rambled.

"We won't let that happen. We'll figure something out that can help you." She stated taking my hands.

"Why do you care so much? We've known each other for two days, and here you are staying by my side the whole time. What's in this for you?" I asked, getting a little loud.

She sat there for a long time, just looking at my. She never took her hazel eyes off me, in fact she kind of just studied my features it seemed. At times she would open her mouth as if to say something, but nothing would come out. After a few minutes, she started to look down at my hands and draw circles with her thumbs. Finally she looked up at me and gave me a half smile.

"I guess I've grown protective of you. I know it's only been two days and a little more, but the first time I saw you it triggered something in me. Sounds stupid right?" She rambled, laughing at herself, "I don't know, I watched as all this happened to you. Paige, you collapsing and what they found and why should someone go through that without protection."

"I do have my friends." I mentioned.

"Yeah, but the thing is, each of your friend's looks just as scared as you. Like y'all spend your days waiting for the next bad thing to happen, and why should anyone live like that?" She asked.

"I swear you've noticed more than anyone else. I don't know if you should though." I whispered, looking down.

"I can help you, with whatever is going on, I have great expertise for kicking ass." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

I didn't say anything, I just looked down trying to keep my eyes from saying what my mouth so badly wanted to. It didn't take long before I felt her fingers underneath my chin, pushing it up so I was looking in her eyes.

_Please._

—

Robbie's POV

What was I doing? I couldn't do this to her, we had just met. I don't deserve this, and besides her and Paige only just broke up earlier today. My hand just kept moving forward though, making contact with her chin as I moved it upwards. Finally her brown eyes looked into mine, and I could see something in them. Was it hope?

_Do it._

Slowly I leaned forward, watching her steadily as I did, making sure that she was okay with what was about to happen. As soon as I was close enough to feel her lips brush against mine, I stopped. I heard her gasp slightly, and hold her breath and the thought that I was driving her crazy made me smirk. I waited another few seconds before I finally grabbed her waist and pulled her against me, and placed my lips against hers.

They were soft, and seemed to work with mine like this was something we did all the time. Along with the elegance of it, there seemed to be a fumbling like we were desperate to get more. I felt her hands slide under my beanie and into my hair. I slide my hands up her shirt, resting on her bare stomach, and I felt goose bumps form all over her skin.

And then I heard it, a gasp from behind us. I stopped and looked up to see the three girls standing there looking at us. Aria was smiling like it was the best thing she'd ever seen, while Hanna had a scowl directed straight at me, and finally Spencer seemed upset, as if she was about to run out the door.

"What the hell is this?" Hanna demanded, crossing her arms and popping her hip out at the same time.

"It's cute is what it is Hanna!" Aria exclaimed, almost jumping up and down.

Just then I saw Spencer turn and run, slamming the door behind her as she did so.

"You can explain to them? I'll go find Spencer." I asked, as I untangled myself from Emily's arms.

"Yeah, leave me with the hot-headed Hanna why don't you." She muttered, looking over to her blonde best friend.

"Don't worry, you got Aria as a buffer." I chuckled, nodding towards the smaller brunette. As I made my way out the door, I saw a nurse standing down the hall from the room.

"Hey, have you seen a tall, brunette who looked upset running out of the room?" I asked as I approached the doctor.

"Yes, I believe I did, she ran that way." The nurse pointed, then gave me a small practiced smile.

"Thanks." I said as I turned towards the direction she pointed and made my way around the corner. I followed the corridor until I was outside, and saw that Spencer was sitting on a bench hunched into herself.

"Hey, are you okay? I know what you saw could be shocking, me being the new kid and all." I started as I walked closer to her before noticing that she was crying.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Spencer croaked out between her subsiding sobs.

"Hey, what's wrong." I asked, sitting down next to her wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

She fell into my shoulder, bringing her knees up to her chest and taking in shuddering breaths. Her sobs started to slow down, and I could feel her body relaxing a little bit with each breath.

"You can't tell anyone. This…is between us." She started, not looking up at me.

"Cross my heart." I said as I held up one hand and crossed my heart with the other.

"I..like someone. Someone I shouldn't because it doesn't fit with who I am. Who others think I am. And I can't always hold on to that thought. It gets hard, especially when you see that someone..doing something." She rambled, grabbing onto my hand as she said it.

"All you have to be is you, Spencer. You're not going to be the same person you were yesterday, and you won't be the same person tomorrow as you are today. And even if it's in a bigger perspective, it's the same concept. People change everyday." I started, but she soon silenced me with a finger.

"I like a girl. Not too long ago though I was dating a guy, if I come out saying this I could be told I'm lying or that I'm not right. I could go through was Emily went through." She cried, turning into my shoulder again.

"Listen, I won't let that happen. You're safe with me, and I'm sure your friends would be okay with it as well. They've already accepted Emily, why wouldn't they accept you?" I asked, pulling her to look up at me.

Suddenly she leaned forward and placed her lips on mine. I sat a moment, calculating what exactly was happening before I pulled away and held her shoulders.

"Spence?" I asked.

"I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I..I'm sorry." She stuttered as she tried to stand up.

"Am I the one you like? Is that why you ran out?" I asked, looking at her.

She didn't answer, just looked down at the floor, kicking her feet at whatever she saw was there.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as I stood up and wrapped her in a hug.

"It's okay, I'll get over it. I'm Spencer Hastings." She murmured into my shoulder as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Yes you are, and you're stronger than you think. It's been a day that we've known each other, and I've seen so much of you already. I'm sorry that it's like this, but it'll get better. Trust me, there are some nice girls who would die to be with you." I smiled, rubbing her back softly.

"You think so?" She asked softly.

"I know so, but the first step is to come out, so that they know they can be with you." I stated, pushing her away to look at me.

"I don't know how or where to start though." She whispered, looking up at me.

"Well, let's start with your friends. Think you can do that?" I said, shaking her a little to get her to smile.

"I think I can." Spencer admitted, looking at me through her lashes.

"Alright, we'll stop by the cafeteria to get some coffee before it closes then we'll head up there okay?" I started, as we made our way through the evening air towards the door.

"Sounds good." She nodded.

—

Emily's POV

"So what the hell was that?" Hanna repeated, sitting down on the chair near the bed.

"That was cute Hanna, that's what it was." Aria exclaimed, "I think the two of you are cute."

"So are you guys like a thing now? Is that's what's happening. Is she supposed to be your knight in shining armor?" Hanna scoffed.

"What does it matter, Hanna, did you see how she was smiling?" Aria pointed out.

"It matters because this morning Robbie was handing over A's phone and we thought that she was suspicious." Hanna replied, "So I thought we were being weary of her."

"We kissed Hanna! That's it. It's not like we had sex or anything like that, it was one kiss. Do you want me to stay away from her? Is that it?" I yelled, while my voice cracked a bit.

Hanna didn't answer, she just sat there staring at me, bouncing her leg up and down. Aria made her way over to me, sitting down beside me and putting her arm around my shoulders.

"I just don't like her." Hanna finally said.

"Why not?" Aria asked quietly.

"Because she's seemed to have gotten in good with all of us in just two days. Like a new member of the group. She's charming and funny but what if she ends up like.." Hanna started but trailed off as we all knew the person she meant.

"She's not like that, and even if she were we know how to handle it now. We're not under her thumb like we were with Ali." I pointed out.

"Let's just give her a chance." Aria comforted, "I think she could be good for us. And we don't always have to be suspicious of everyone new that comes into our lives."

We sat there in silence for a moment or so, before we heard a knock at the door and saw Spencer through the window. As she opened the door, I saw that Robbie was hanging behind her but didn't come in, and when Spencer noticed she looked back at Robbie hesitantly.

"Can you come with me?" Spencer asked shakily.

"Yes, of course." Robbie nodded, walking in behind Spencer.

"Now what's going on?" Hanna sighed, looking at the two of them.

"I..need to talk to you guys about something important." Spencer started, looking down and kicking her feet. I'd never seen her so nervous before, especially in front of us, her three best friends.

"What is it?" Aria comforted, "You know you can tell us anything."

She didn't answer us right away, instead she looked at Robbie like a scared little girl and Robbie just placed her hand on Spencer's shoulder. It looked like an exchange between lifetime friends to be honest, and that made me realize how easily Robbie fit with us.

_Meant to be?_

"I..I think I may be.." Spencer stuttered, fidgeting with her hands, "I think I may be gay. Well lesbian to be correct, but yeah.."

Silence fell over the room for a moment before the small brunette beside me squealed.

"Oh Spencer! When did you figure it out?" Aria exclaimed as she ran to give her friend a hug.

"I've been thinking about it for months now, before Toby and I ended, it's always been in the back of my mind. How I look at girls is so different. And I feel like I'm saying everything Em said." Spencer said sheepishly.

"No, Spence, this is your moment. This is your first step to becoming comfortable with yourself." I comforted, smiling up at her.

"Today is just full of surprises." Hanna mentioned, smiling to herself a bit, "I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to tell us though."

"It wasn't me, Robbie was the one who convinced me that I should and that it was okay. Along with the fact that Em already had." Spencer smiled at Robbie, "Thank you."

"It wasn't a problem, I just wanted to help." Robbie smiled softly, bowing her head a bit to ward off the attention.

"It seems you've been helping us all one by one huh?" I pointed out, chuckling a bit.

"Some more than others." Hanna whispered.

"Han!" Aria yelled.

"What? It's true. I'm not mad anymore." She said turning towards Robbie, "I'm sorry for how I acted catching your tongue down Em's throat."

"It's cool, no harm done." Robbie laughed, finally taking a seat near the window.

Just then a phone started ringing, startling Hanna, Spencer, Aria and I. We stayed frozen for a moment, before Aria reached for her phone.

"Hello?..Yeah, at the hospital with Em, she may get out later tonight. Yeah. Alright I'll be there soon." Aria said into the receiver before hitting end, "It was just my mom, she wants me to come home for dinner."

"Yeah, I should probably get going too, my mom's gonna want me home for dinner." Hanna nodded, "I'll see you guys tonight right?"

"Yeah, most definitely." I agreed, trying to smile convincingly.

"Alright, cool." Hanna replied, grabbing her purse and phone.

"I'll probably get going too, I don't want hospital food for dinner too." Spencer chimed in.

"Alright, bye Em, I'll see you later." Aria said as she leaned down to hug me. The other girls followed suit before all turning to the door to leave.

"Thank you again, Robbie." Spencer said as she stepped in front of Robbie and leaning in for a hug. I could see the sincerity in the exchange, and it looked as if Spencer didn't want to let go.

"It wasn't a problem, Spence. I'm here anytime." Robbie smiled as she let go. Spencer gave me one last smile before she walked out the door.

And then we were alone again.

—

Robbie's POV

"So in two days, you've managed to help Aria with charcoal drawings, carry me to the hospital, and get Spencer to come out to us. Do you have a secret agenda?" Emily joked, smiling up at me.

"Yes, I'm secretly trying to get in good with your friends so I can get with you." I winked, sitting down on the bed.

"So this is just you wanting in my pants?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Totally. All I want is sex." I agreed, nodding quickly, "No, I don't know, I just happen to be around when everything goes down."

"Well can you be around more often?" Emily whispered, smiling down at herself.

"If you would allow me, I'd like to be." I nodded, reaching for her hand.

I felt her making circles on my palms as she sat across from me. Her beautiful brunette hair cascading over her shoulders, her lips still caught in a small smile, and finally her brown eyes catching mine as she looked up. Through her smile though I can see a layer of something else, fear maybe? Exhaustion? Something was bothering her, had been for a long time it seems, but she was hiding it.

_What's happened to you?_

"So how long are you going to stay here?" She asked.

"How long would you want me to?" I smiled.

"Till I get out? Mom's going to be busy with work still and I don't want to be alone. Or have you leave." She said quietly, looking down again.

"Then I will stay until you're out, would you like to order some gourmet food from this new restaurant I heard about? It's called The Cafeteria, I heard it's just the best." I said, winking at her.

"I would love to. What's the best entrée there?" She laughed, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Actually, I think our restaurant may be closed now, how about some pizza? I'm sure I can sneak it in." I mentioned, looking at my watch.

"Pizza sounds wonderful, but you don't have to. I don't want you spending your money." She shook her head.

"Listen it's fine, really. We need to eat." I pleaded, "I can just run down to the Pizza Place that's around the corner and be back in five minutes."

"Are you sure? I don't want you spending too much on me." She questioned, looking up at me.

"Most definitely. It's fine." I smiled.

"Thank you, Robbie. Again." She smiled at me, and grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." I said, kissing the top of her head before turning and leaving.

As I made my way down the corridor and out the doors of the waiting room, I noticed a peculiar figure standing across the street. They were dressed in all black, with a hood covering their face in the shadows. Just staring at them gave me the creeps and I felt uneasy about leaving the hospital.

_Who the hell are you?_

As I stood there, I fished my phone out of my pocket and called up Emily, continuing to stare at the hooded figure standing across from me. While the phone rang, I felt my legs start to move towards the other side of the street, right at the unknown person.

Finally, Emily picked up. "Hey, Em. Are you okay?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah, I am? Are you?" She replied through the speaker.

"Remember the first night about the hooded figure? They're back again." I stuttered as I was talking fast.

"What? What do you mean they're back?" She started, sounding a bit freaked.

"I mean that they're about a foot or so in front of me. Do you know who it is?" I all about growled into the phone.

"What? No. Robbie are you walking to get the pizza?" She asked.

"No, I'm walking to the creep in the hood. Hold on." I answered as I stepped onto the sidewalk and stopped in front of the stranger.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked towards the shadows, "And why do you keep following me?"

There was no answer from the figure, but I could tell that they seemed shaky now that I was in front of them. Their hands kept clenching and unclenching, and their leg seemed to be shaking.

"I asked you a question." I repeated, taking another step forward.

At my step forward, they turned on their heel and made a break down the sidewalk. Before I could go after them, I heard screaming from the phone in my hand. As I lifted the phone to my ear, I heard Emily yelling my name into the receiver.

"Robbie?!" She yelled.

"Yeah?" I muttered, still looking the direction in which the figure had ran.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She started, the sound of panic apparent in her voice.

"I confronted them, they ran and before I could go after them I heard you yelling." I replied, "I'm going for the pizza now."

"Okay, don't go after them. They could hurt you, whoever they are." She said, sounding a bit unsure.

_Is she lying?_

"Alright, I won't." I agreed, making my way towards the pizza shop, "I'll be there soon."

—

Emily's POV

Robbie had just seen A, for the second time. She had confronted them, stepped up to them. What could that do to us? Have any of us really stepped up to A like that? I don't think so. And what was A here for anyway?

After hanging up with Robbie, I made another call to Spencer.

"Hello?" I heard through the phone.

"Hey, Robbie just saw A again. She was going to get pizza and A was across the street." I started, not missing a beat.

"What? Did anything happen?" She asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Robbie walked across the street and had a stand off with A. Apparently A took off as soon as Robbie stepped closer." I started, "Did A get scared? And what do they want?"

"I don't know, I don't know what they could want with her. Maybe they were trying to take her too and up the ante for tonight." Spencer mentioned.

"I don't know, the ante is already up. But listen I gotta go now. Bye." I said as Robbie walked in with a pizza box on hand.

"Hey, who was that?" She asked smiling.

"Just Spencer, planning for my return party." I lied, looking away, "So what kind of pizza did you get?"

"Traditional cheese, less to take off." She smiled sheepishly, looking down at the box on the bed.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"I'm lactose intolerant, so I have to pick the cheese off the pizza. Weird I know, especially since pizza's my favorite food." She responded, opening the box and handing me a slice.

"It is weird, you're weird." I joked, poking her side and smiling at her, "But I appreciate the fact you went and got this for us. I appreciate what you've done."

"It's not a problem, it makes me happy to help." She nodded, peeling greasy cheese off her pizza.

We sat there for a few moments, she sat there peeling her cheese and taking a few bites while I watched her. It was odd, someone who seemed so ordinary, was actually extraordinary. And for some reason A wanted to mess with that, maybe add her as another pawn in her game. I couldn't let that happen, it was just too dangerous. She should leave, but I didn't want her to. She was a comfort, she made me feel safe and she was amazing to be around. Something about her made it seem like I'd known her for forever, when I actually met her yesterday.

_A sure wanted to get to know her._

As I continued to watch her, her eyes looked up and caught mine. I watched as her lips stretched into a tight smile, as her cheeks were filled with pizza goodness. She shot me a wink and I could feel butterflies erupt in my stomach and my cheeks started to blush. How could she do that so well? With one simple act I looked like a fool. Suddenly I felt her lips press against my forehead, and without thinking I grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her lips to mine.

"Thank you for staying. For being here. For helping me." I breathed as I pulled away.

"I will be here for as long as you need, Emily." She smiled, placing another kiss on my forehead, as we settled into the bed.

"_I will be here for as long as you need."_

It seemed too good to be true, I was too comfortable. Then I felt my phone buzz, and after fishing it out from beneath me, I knew it was too good.

"**I'll see you bitches tonight. -A" **

_Too good. _

—

**A/N I'm sorry this took longer than usual to post, I've been traveling a lot and had a lot of homework to do as well. And now finals. It just never stops. Again, feel free to review, or follow, or just read. It all means a lot to me. thank you guys who have reviewed. **


	7. Chapter 7

Hanna's POV

_23:30 that night_

"Alright, I'll go pick up Emily and then we'll meet you outside the greenhouse." I replied into the speaker.

Emily had gotten out of the hospital two hours before and said that her mom had just gone to bed. It was time to put the plan into action.

"Sounds good. See you then." Spencer said through the phone.

It had been a wild day, and part of me didn't think that Emily was completely up for sneaking around at night and meeting up with her worst enemy. Hell, was I even up for it? Were any of us? This was a time that we would be so close that we could unhood our harasser, we could bring this all to a close, but A was too good for that.

As I was putting my phone back into my pocket, I walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bottle of vodka and started pouring it into my bottle.

_Liquid courage, we all need a little right?_

I took one last look at my kitchen before I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. The streets outside were dead, and there was an eery silence to it, like no one was even in their houses. It felt as if the streets were deserted, and waiting for me to be the first to dare to drive on them.

I got into my car and pulled out, driving on the black top, passing by houses filled with ignorant people. They were so unaware to the monster that resided in their town, tormenting teenage girls with nothing to their name but the possible murder of their own best friend. Our lives had been flipped upside down, and we couldn't turn right side up. Life wasn't handing us lemons anymore, they were rocks and boulders.

_One right after another. _

As I drove, I took a sip of my courage and finally pulled up to Emily's house. I flashed my lights into her window and watched as her shadow passed by her window, making her way through her room to her door, I suspect. Finally she showed up outside her front door and made her way into my car.

"You ready for this?" I asked, as she got situated with the seat belt.

"As I'll every be, I guess." She replied, sounding a bit exhausted. I'm sure we all were at this point.

Silence fell over us as I made a u-turn and started driving for our destination, it was only a matter of time that our lives would be on the line. Driving down Emily's street, I saw a car parked on the side of the road, the first car I'd seen the whole time I'd been out. It seemed strange as I drove by it, like there may be someone in there. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it was A waiting for us.

—

Robbie's POV

I felt wrong sitting here. What was I doing? This was none of my business. Whatever Emily was hiding from me, it wasn't my right to know what it was. I shouldn't be sitting here in my car this late at night. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to Emily and the rest of her friends.

They had been very hush hush about something happening tonight, and if it weren't for the pale white faces, I wouldn't have bothered to find out what it was. After leaving Emily, I tried to drive around and distract myself, make it seem like everything would be okay. But from what happened with the stranger outside the hospital, and the terrified looks in the girl's faces, I had to go check on Emily.

When I pulled up to her house, I noticed that another car was waiting in her driveway and flashing their lights towards what I would assume is her window. About a minute later, I saw her front door open and Emily popped out wearing all black and got into the passenger seat of the car. Another minute went by and the car was off, driving right by me and I noticed that it was Hanna who was driving.

_Where were they going?_

Remembering what my dad had taught me, I waited three seconds before turning on my car and taking off down the road the same way they had passed me. I had to know what was going on, even if it felt wrong.

_Something is so wrong about this._

—

Aria's POV

Tonight was the night, the night we had to face A willingly or almost willingly to retrieve our friend. The night that we lay all fears aside and hope to God that A doesn't pull something potentially life threatening. Was I ready?

_Would I ever be? _

Just then I saw lights flashing in the front windows, Spencer. She was finally here to take me to the green house where we'd find out what our fate was. I could feel myself shaking in my jacket, it was an uncontrollable feeling being terrified. It was a terrible feeling.

"You ready?" Spencer asked as I got into the passenger seat and put my seatbelt on.

"Do I really have a choice anymore?" I whispered, looking out the window.

"We'll get through this, like we always do. Together." Spencer replied, taking my hand and squeezing it.

And then we were off, driving towards the green house, nothing stopping us now from what we were about to do. I had a pit in my stomach, growing into nervousness that was spreading throughout my body. I was still visibly shaking in my jacket.

_I can't do this._

—

Emily's POV

What was I doing here? Why was I risking my life to save someone else. God, even someone who cheated on me. Cause no one deserves this, no matter what they've done.

We had pulled up to the green house just a few minutes prior, but neither Hanna or I made a move to go inside, not without the rest of us. I didn't have a good feeling about this meet up tonight, it felt like something was going to go very wrong. At this point though, what could we do, turn tail and run? There was way too much at stake and if we did that A would probably make our lives so much worse.

Finally, Spencer and Aria pulled up next to us. Spencer was the first one out of the car, of course, because she seemed the least bit scared. Though she was probably just as scared as the rest of us. Next was Hanna, playing it off as if it were just another day in our lives. Aria and I were the last ones to get out, which just goes to show how scared we were. This wasn't just another day, so many different things could go down tonight.

"Do you have the phone?" Hanna slurred as we convened together in front of our cars.

"Yes, it's in my pocket. I just hope that A decided to be nice and bring Paige with them." Spencer answered.

"I guess we'll find out soon." Aria whispered, scooting closer to my right side.

We stood there for a few minutes, just staring at the green house, as if it were the portal to hell. I couldn't see anything inside the house, it was covered in shadows, and there didn't seem to be any movement inside.

Then I hear from behind us a stick snap, as if someone's walking around behind us. It was a few feet away but the sound seemed to be booming, and it caused us all to jump visibly.

"What was that?" I whispered, looking around in the darkness.

"Probably just an animal, we should head inside. Before someone comes snooping around." Spencer answered quickly, heading towards the house with the rest of us on her tail.

—

Robbie's POV

I drove for a good twenty minutes before they reached their destination, it was a place on the outskirts of town. It looked like a greenhouse, but it was so isolated and surrounded by trees that it couldn't have been used for the past decade at least.

I parked about thirty feet back from where Hanna and Emily had stopped, hiding my car among the trees. Thank god it's dark because another car pulled in shortly after I turned my car off. As I got out of the car, I noticed that it was Spencer and Aria in the second one that pulled up. Soon all of the girls were standing in from of the cars, whispering about something that I couldn't hear.

As I tried to get closer, I noticed that Spencer had pulled out the phone that I found the first night I was in town.

_What was going on?_

Just then, I saw another figure lurking around in the dark. It was hard to see, but it looked like they were almost sneaking around the trees, trying not to be seen or heard by the girls. They were ducking behind trees and walking slowly, picking up there feet and determining their next steps. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could tell that they were wearing a hood, just like the stranger from the past two nights that followed me.

_What the hell are you doing here?_

Turning my attention away from the girls, I took a step towards the direction the stranger was heading and inevitably stepped on a stick snapping it in half.

"Shit." I whispered to myself, freezing in my spot to see if the girls noticed, which they had.

Although they heard, none of them made a move to come check it out, instead Spencer made her way to the greenhouse, with the other three following close behind. Once their backs were turned I start to move again, planning my footing accordingly as the stranger had done. Once I figured they were inside, I became a bit careless about my footing and focused on getting to the stranger quickly, not looking where I was going.

Suddenly, I felt my foot connect with something hard, and whatever it was it made a grunting sound.

_What the hell?_

When I looked down, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

—

Spencer's POV

Why did we choose such a dark place? It was so hard to see, especially since the only source of light was the moon above us, and that was barely anything.

_Stupid choice Spence._

As we filed into the house, we stood in the one spot where the moon shined the brightest, I guess it was our way to feel safer. After a moment, I remembered that I had an iPhone which had a flashlight on it, thank god.

As I shone the flashlight around the room, I saw a shadow move from behind the house.

"I think A's here, guys." I whispered to the other three who had gotten the same idea with their flashlights.

"Where?" Aria panicked, looking around.

Just then a flower pot fell to the floor, smashing into a million pieces and causing us to jump out of our skin. Turning around quickly, we saw the dreaded hooded figure standing three feet away. The sight was more frightening than it should of been, but I couldn't help catch my breath.

"We have what you want." I yelled at the figure, "Where's Paige?"

The only thing the figure did was place their gloved hand out for the phone.

"Not until I know Paige is safe." Emily said. In response the figure took a step towards us, menacingly.

"You back off, creep. We want to know Paige is safe!" Hanna yelled, slurring a little bit.

"We had a deal." I stated as sternly as I could, but my voice caught in my throat.

The figure took another step towards us, and we all took another step back. Suddenly, they lurched forward grabbing on to Aria's wrist and yanking her to their side. Aria screamed bloody murder as A held up a shining knife.

"Look, give Aria back, and hand Paige over and we'll give you the phone. You have my word, just give us them back." I yelled, tears forming in my eyes.

The figure didn't move, just continued to hold the knife up making sure we knew what would happen.

_What were we going to do?_

—

Emily's POV

A had Aria, A had Paige, A had Aria and Paige. What were we going to do? A had both of them and we didn't even know where one was. They also had a knife, shining in the moonlight.

Aria was crying, yelling for us to get her back but we knew if we moved she could get hurt. It was hopeless, we had to give it back.

"Just give them the phone, Spence." I whispered, defeated.

"But it's our bargaining chip!" Spencer yelled.

"It's all we have to get them back, but Em's right." Hanna agreed, "We need to hand it over."

"I guess you're right." Spencer admitted, as she took a step towards the hooded stranger, moving her arm forward with the phone.

Just then, a dark figure came flying from behind the stranger, tackling them to the side and causing them to lose grip on Aria.

"What the fuck?" Hanna exclaimed as Spencer and I made a break for Aria, "Who is that? What's going on?"

A and the mystery person struggled on the floor, with the mystery person visibly pulling back their arm to strike a punch. As they did, I heard the crunch of bones from presumably A's face.

_Good riddance._

"The the hell out of hear!" A familiar voice hissed at us.

"Robbie?" I asked, stunned, as I shined my light on the two, I saw that it was indeed Robbie. When she looked up to answer though, A took the chance to throw her off of them.

"Fuck." I heard her mumble.

"What do we do?" Aria asked, panicking.

We watched as Robbie got up, and grabbed the back of A's jacket hauling them to the ground hard. She brought her fist back up like before and landed one in A's stomach, to which A kicked the back of Robbie's knee, causing her to fall forward next to them. I saw A get up and straddle Robbie's back, grabbing her hair and smashing her face into the concrete.

"No!" I yelled as I stepped towards the two.

Without wasting a moment, Robbie threw her hand backwards, shoving her two fingers into the nostrils of A and pulling down causing them to let go. Once A was on the ground, Robbie stood up and grabbed the collar of A throwing them into a near by table.

_Good, she's winning._

—

Robbie's POV

_What a piece of shit._

I watched as the pathetic being attempted to crawl through the remains of a table. They seemed to have been having trouble with one of their arms, like it was broken or something. Once I got close enough, I stooped over and picked them up again. They were light, but it might be the adrenaline pumping.

Once they were lifted, they snapped a punch in my gut, causing me to lose my grip. They caught their stance, and kneed me in the gut, making me lose my breath.

_Shit man._

"Robbie run!" I heard from behind me, I think it was Spencer.

They kneed me again and I fell to my knees, putting me in the perfect position to spin kick the back of their knees and get them down. Once down, I got myself up again and waited for their move. I watched as they stood up and turn towards me, seemingly very calm and then equally as calm they took a step forward. Not wanting them to get any closer, I kicked their ribs enjoying the sound of some of the bones cracking. Next I one-two punched them and ended with an uppercut to the jaw, disorienting them. Finally, I grabbed the sides of their head and head butted them as hard as I could.

_At least that was the plan._

After grabbing the sides of their head, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen, just below my ribs. And then another one to the right and lower down. As I looked down, I saw that blood was gushing out of me like a waterfall. I had been stabbed. I staggered back a little bit, and saw the glint of their knife in the flashlight of one of the girls. It was covered in blood, my blood.

_Shit._

I watched as their arm curled up, knife in hand, and came smashing down connecting with my left shoulder. Unfortunate for them, it got stuck there, leaving them weaponless. With the small opportunity and what strength I could muster up, I grabbed them with my good arm and sent them through the glass behind us.

After I was sure that they were through, I pulled the knife out of my shoulder and fell to my knees. It was suddenly getting harder to breathe.

"Robbie? Robbie, oh my god, Robbie!" I heard from a distance. Everything was starting to go black, and I couldn't see anything anymore.

—

Aria's POV

Robbie was on the ground and A was no where to be found, along with Paige.

"We have to check to make sure A is gone, we can't risk another attack." Spencer stated as calmly as possible as she made her way to the hole that A made with their body.

"Did you not see the way Robbie launched them? There's no way that they could walk away, and if they could I doubt they'd come back here!" Hanna pointed out.

"Can someone call the cops or get us moving to a hospital? She's losing blood." Emily yelled, looking at all of us.

Just then, we heard the door to the greenhouse opening, and panicked. I hid behind a beam, Hanna was behind a table, Emily stayed near Robbie and Spencer grabbed up the knife that A used. As our flashlights fell on the being at the door, we all soon relaxed as we realized who it was; it was only Paige.

"Paige?" I asked, looking at the girl with the pale face.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys." She half smiled, as her face fell upon the body on the floor, "Is that Robbie?"

"Yes, please tell me you can help." Emily pleaded, looking up at her ex.

"First, how did you escape?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Robbie found me in the woods right after the creep left me. She carried me to her car and untied me, told me to wait here and if she wasn't back soon to call the cops." Paige rambled, looking at Robbie with terrified eyes.

"Well did you?" Spencer asked, looking at Paige.

"I..what? No, not yet." Paige stuttered, "I don't have a phone."

"Another important question, did you see that creep outside when you came back in?" Hanna asked quickly.

"No, I didn't." Paige answered.

"Alright, help us get Robbie to my car and we'll all go to the hospital. I'll take my car, Hanna grab yours, and Em you can get Robbie's" Spencer delegated.

I watched as we all slowly moved to do what we needed, Paige walked over and grabbed Robbie's good arm, slinging it over her shoulder and Spencer joined on the other side. Em stood for a minute trying to get her bearings before moving towards the door.

"You ready to go?" Hanna asked me as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Since we stepped foot here." I answered, moving in the direction that Em had disappeared.

A few minutes later three cars were rushing off down the dirt road leading up to the dismal greenhouse. The place where I was threatened and saved, where we faced our stalker and came out fiercer than before; it didn't go as planned but we gained something we didn't have before, someone else on our side.

—

Hanna's POV

_What a fucking night._

It was only 1 in the morning, but it felt like I'd been up for days. I could feel my body starting to slump into itself and my eyes were starting to droop, I couldn't fall asleep now though, I was still driving. We were making our way to the hospital as fast as we legally could, it was only a 20 minute drive but it seemed so much longer, and I can only imagine how Robbie was doing.

Speaking of, how did Robbie even find us? I don't think Em would have told her what was happening, we had only just met her regardless of whether she saved her life or not. I mean, I'm not upset that Robbie found us, she definitely saved our asses back there, but why would she bother?

"How're you doing Aria? Did they get you anywhere when A was tackled?" I asked, trying to distract my thoughts.

"No, I don't think so." Aria replied, absentmindedly feeling around her neck for abrasions.

"That's a plus." I chuckled, clutching onto the steering wheel tightly.

"We're all okay, well..most of us anyways." Aria smiled to herself, "I'm glad we made it out of there."

Soon we were outside the Emergency Room, crowding around Spencer's car to get Robbie out without causing anymore damage.

"She's lost a lot of blood, Aria, go tell a nurse we have a stabbing patient." Spencer demanded, pressing her hands to Robbie's neck. Shortly after leaving a team of nurses were hauling ass out the door with a gurney and joining us at Spencer's car.

Without asking questions, they picked her up and transferred her to the bed, where they wheeled her back attempting to see if she was conscious.

_This night is never going to end._

—

Emily's POV

As we rushed behind the gurney, I saw that the nurse had a worried look on her face, one that screamed uncertainty. Uncertainty for what though? Robbie's life?

_How could this happen? _

"Please, have a seat in the waiting room. We'll alert you if there's any news." The nurse at the front desk informed us.

"Thank you." Aria nodded, being the first to head towards a chair. The rest of us followed suit, taking a seat or standing in the corner.

"Hey, Spence." Hanna spoke up from beside me.

"What's up Han?" Spencer asked, directing her tired eyes in the blonde's way.

"Do you still have the..ya know..phone?" Hanna whispered, leaning forward so she was heard.

The question caused Spencer to sit up straight and start digging in her pockets. Suddenly she froze, and turned towards Hanna, nodding her head furiously. Just then all of our phones, excluding Paige, went off alerting us to our new texts.

_Seriously?_

"**You'll be sorry. -A" **

I'll be sorry? Again? They don't usually repeat themselves, something must be up. I mean Robbie did do them in quite a lot, but would that shake them? Were they afraid?

"Who was that?" Paige asked curiously, looking over my shoulder.

"Oh, no one. Just my mom. She wanted to know why I had snuck out." I lied, turning my phone quickly.

_Shit my mom._

What was she going to say? I couldn't leave the hospital to go home, I'd be to worked up about Robbie, but she'd kill me for being out so late and sneaking out.

"So what's the story?" Aria asked, looking at each one of us, "Because there's no way we can discuss A."

"We had been hanging out on that cliff over town all night. No drinking, just celebrating Em getting out of the hospital. If they ask why, only discuss the ulcer. On our way to our cars someone tried to mug us and Robbie got a little too heroic for her own good. And here we are." Spencer decided, looking at each of our faces for confirmation.

"What about me?" Paige asked, reminding us that she was still there.

"You found us on the street after the fact." I answered, not looking her in the face.

Just then, a nurse came out of the 'nurse's only' doors and headed straight for us.

"You're the ones who brought in the stab victim right?" The nurse asked, looking at us.

"That's right." Spencer answered as we all nodded.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked, worry filling my voice.

"Well, you see, it's touch and go. The knife nicked part of her lower lungs, and she's lost a substantial amount of blood. We don't know if we'll be able to help her body make up for that. She'll be in surgery for a while just trying to repair the ligaments torn and the wound to her lungs. I'll let you know how it goes, but that's all we know." The nurse answered, looking down solemnly.

I was speechless, my chest was tightening and my heart was pumping fast. I couldn't stay in here any longer, the walls were starting to close in and my head was spinning too fast. I made a beeline for the door while attempting to dry my tear filled eyes.

_This can't be happening._

**A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I hope you guys liked this one, lemme know what y'all thought about the fight scene? And maybe where I should take it from here. Review and follow if you dare!**


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